1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information apparatus for a camera, which records/reproduces information recorded on a magnetic recording region of a film.
2. Related Background Art
A technique for recording a variety of information on a loaded film by a camera is known. In particular, U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,332 discloses a technique for magnetically recording/reproducing information. The information includes information associated with a photographing period, information associated with a photographer, and the like.
A partially photographed film may be temporarily rewound and unloaded from a camera, and may be loaded in the camera again to be subjected to new photographing operations. In this case, when the film is loaded again, a proximal frame of an unexposed portion must oppose an aperture. In order to attain this operation, information indicating to which frame photographing operations have been completed must be recorded on the film during, e.g., the previous rewind operation. When the film is loaded in the camera again, this information is reproduced, and the film is fed by a predetermined amount based on this information, so that the proximal frame of the unexposed portion opposes the aperture.
In this manner, when the partially photographed film is loaded again, information indicating to which frame photographing operations have been completed must be reproduced. However, when a new film is loaded or when a film, all the frames of which have been photographed is erroneously loaded, information of this type need not be reproduced.
When the above-mentioned information is magnetically recorded on a film, or when the information recorded on the film is magnetically read (reproduced), a magnetic head must abut against a region where the information is recorded. However, when the magnetic head is always in contact with a recording medium, the characteristics of the head may be impaired.
As a new film cartridge, a cartridge for feeding a film by externally rotating a shaft around which a film is wound is known, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,834,306. However, when such a cartridge is used and information is to be magnetically recorded/reproduced, if the magnetic head is always located at a position where it is in contact with the film, the magnetic head may disturb a feed process of the film from the cartridge.
Furthermore, in, e.g., an 8-mm movie camera, an environmental noise such as a voice is magnetically recorded during a photographing operation. In a movie camera of this type, an image photographing portion and a voice recording portion corresponding to the image are separated on a film in a film travel direction since the movie camera must take motion pictures, and has a different apparatus arrangement such as mechanism arrangement conditions in an image photographing unit corresponding to a photographing optical system and a voice recording unit. Therefore, in a movie camera, a magnetic recording operation can be performed regardless of an image photographing operation on a film surface, respective units have relatively simple arrangements, and an interference between the two mechanisms need not be considered. Therefore, stable image photographing and voice recording operations can be performed on a film.
The method of magnetically recording information on a film can be applied to, e.g., a still camera. In this case, information to be recorded includes photographing information such as exposure, aperture, and film sensitivity conditions during a photographing operation, a photographing date and time, or trimming information used during a printing operation of a photographed frame. When such information is recorded on the film surface during photographing operations, the information can be read in, e.g., a processing laboratory to set exposure conditions during printing operations in accordance with those during photographing operations, thereby coping with exposure conditions which are different from each other in units of frames. In this manner, a printed photograph can be finished better. Even if a photographing operation is performed under a condition that a portion of a frame is enlarged, and a focal length of a photographing lens of a camera is limited, a printed photograph appearing as if it were taken using a telephoto lens can be obtained, thus assisting photographing functions.
For this reason, in a still camera of this type, a magnetic member may be arranged on a film surface as a magnetic information recording portion, and a magnetic recording apparatus for magnetically recording information on the magnetic member using, e.g., a magnetic head may be disposed in the camera.
However, when a magnetic recording apparatus for a still camera is arranged, practical problems in association with a film feed device are posed. More specifically, a still camera has no enough space to separately arrange an image photographing unit and a voice recording unit unlike in a movie camera. Since a film is normally cut at a proper length as a negative film after development and printing, an information recording portion is preferably formed on a side edge portion which is close to a photographing frame as much as possible or near it in terms of handling of film segments, an arrangement space of mechanism parts in a camera, and the like, and in order to realize a compact camera as a whole. For this reason, the magnetic information recording portion is formed adjacent to each photographing frame of a film, and a magnetic head for recording information on the magnetic information recording portion is urged against a film surface in a portion adjacent to a film path facing an aperture of a camera main body from a direction perpendicular to the film surface.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,832,275 and 4,834,306, Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Application No. 58-67329, and the like disclose a film patrone mechanism which comprises a cylinder portion, including a spool shaft, for storing a photographing film wound in a roll, and a film feed portion, integrally extending from the cylinder portion in its tangential direction, for storing a leading end of a film in a linear state. A patrone of this type stores the leading end of the film in the feed portion so as not to externally expose it. When this patrone is loaded in a camera, for example, a sprocket which meshes with perforations of a film is driven by a driving system of the camera from an opening portion formed in a portion of the spool shaft or the feed portion, thereby sequentially feeding the leading end of the film from a feed port of the patrone.
When an automatic loading camera which employs a film patrone with this structure, and loads it in a patrone chamber formed on one side of a camera main body so as to sequentially feed a film by a driving system in the camera and to wind it around a take-up spool is to be developed, the presence of the magnetic head poses a problem. More specifically, during an automatic loading operation, when a film is fed toward the take-up spool by only a push-out force from the patrone, the leading end of the film must overcome a pressing force of the magnetic head in a direction of a film surface to pass through this portion and to keep traveling. However, as compared to a case wherein the leading end of a film is wound around a spool in advance and the film is extracted by a rotational force of the spool like in a conventional film patrone, in the film patrone structure of the above-mentioned type, the leading end of a film must pass through a magnetic head portion by only a push-out force from a film patrone, and since a pressing force of the magnetic head is considerably high, a film push-out force must be increased than necessary. If the film push-out force is increased, the leading end of the film may be caught by the magnetic head portion, and may be bent. In this state, the film can no longer travel. Thus, such problems must be solved.